ECE 2009 - 2010
Distinguished Lecturer Series

“Prospects for Superconducting Quantum Computers”

Distinguished Lecturer Series

Integrated circuits made from superconductors can realize a wide variety of non-linear reactive microwave devices. Since they are also very low loss, the laws of quantum physics apply and tell us that these devices should exhibit a discrete spectrum of energy levels, almost like isolated individual atoms. Experiments have strikingly confirmed this. Qubits, quantum two-level systems which are the basis of quantum information processing, have been created using these integrated circuits, and a precision quantum science is rapidly growing up in this area. Full exploitation of this cutting-edge science has required mastery of low-temperature electronic techniques, and the application of basic principles of analog microwave devices formulated in electrical engineering more than fifty years ago.

David DiVincenzo has been a Research Staff Member in the Physical Sciences Department at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY, since 1985. He has worked throughout his career in various problems in condensed matter physics. Since 1993, he has explored quantum information theory and the physical realizations of quantum computers. In particular, he is known for proposing a set of five criteria (commonly called DiVincenzo’s checklist) for the physical implementation of quantum computers. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Editor-in-Chief of the Virtual Journal of Quantum Information. Dr. DiVincenzo received his Ph.D. (1983), M.S.E. (1980) and B.S.E. (1979) from the University of Pennsylvania.